snowflake challenge #3

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Challenge #3:

In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I do enjoy AUs, though there are some I prefer to read over others. Depending on the canon, I can be pretty picky. I will always read a 'shop AU- I really enjoy coffeeshop AUs but for the right couples, flowershop AUs are fun too, and someone recently reminded me that bookshop ones should be more of a thing, because yes, they should. College AUs can be good. Fairytales/movie/book AUs are great too. I did the Fairytale Exchange last year and I enjoyed writing a Thor/Sif Beauty and the Beast AU. Really helped me think outside the box. There are a lot of Pride and Prejudice AUs but I personally would love a reason to write a Persuasion one. I just need to decide on the ship that it would fit.

When it comes to writing (and reading), I still lean toward canon divergent AUs more than anything else. It is really appealing and fun to think about how things could have been different if one event had been tweaked- how these two characters had gotten together sooner, what if they had done x instead of y. Same with the different first meeting AUs. What if one had shown up at an earlier or later part of the other one's lives? That kind of thing.

The challenge for me when I write is for the characters to still remain recognizable to their canon counterparts. I'm currently working on a role reversal fic for Clark and Lois from Smallville, where Lois is the alien from Krypton but I had her adopted by the Lanes and Clark staying with the Kents. I wanted to keep some of their core personalities in tact rather than switching them completely, because those are the characters I fell in love with.

Going off that point, that is why I like when the superhero characters somehow get to keep their roles- Diana is still Wonder Woman, Steve Rogers (or Sam Wilson!) is still Captain America ... that kind of thing. Of course, I will read a mundane AU from time to time. I have a soft spot for Hallmark movie AUs and one of my goals is to actually write one, because a few of the shows I love (Gilmore Girls, Smallville) have that whole small town setting ready to go. It depends on my mood and the plot when it comes to reading fics. If their character seems completely different, it is usually not for me though.

In general, it is just great the way people can take established canons and put these characters into whole new worlds and come up with awesome ideas on how to make it happen. I always do admire the creativity. I may not read them all but it's nice that they're there.

Comments

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I think they definitely play a big role, especially since the flower means are often used as a method for one character to express how they feel about the other one in this particular setting.

A good comparison! I think I lean toward coffee shops and even bakery AUs, because there is more room for consistent interaction but these can be fun. Now that I think about it, I don't know if I can read a very long flower shop AU though, unless there is a wedding and even then at some point, I feel the interactions get a little forced.

No problem! Thanks for asking. It is good to think about. There are definitely AUs that don't work for me, but it can be nice to read about why it works for other people and it often gives me a new perspective too.

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I feel the interactions get a little forced

It's possible this is one of the things that deters me from the 'mundane' (not liking that word, but can't think of a better one off the top of my head) AUs - I like events in my fics beyond the character interactions, especially if it's a long fic. And if all the events relate just to the characters interactions without any other stimulus, I lose interest. Basically, gimme some thrilling heroics to hang the character interactions around :D

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Understandable, and I think 'mundane' is the popular way to describe these type of AUs. It is hard for a plot to really take off in certain situations, outside of relationship drama. I think that is why some of these tropes can't be made into a long fic. Even coffeeshop AUs have some sort of spy/extra plot when they get longer, which is the only way I can read the lengthy ones.

[dreamersdare]

It is hard for a plot to really take off in certain situations, outside of relationship drama.

You may have hit the nail on the head here, you know? Are you here for the relationship drama? Then the mundane AU is going to probably suit you down to the ground. If, on the other hand, you want the thrilling heroics, then the 'exactly what it says on the tin' coffee shop AU is just never going to rock your world.

Basically, do you want romance, or do you want action with a romantic subplot?

Also, I never get far enough into those mundane AUs to find out if they have an exciting subplot. i wonder if I'm missing out!

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You summed it up well. I think that is why people do lean toward mundane AUs- because they want their ship to get together without having to consider, like, Thanos or Voldemort or something. Just happy times with some pining and minor misunderstandings. However, if you always want the action (which plenty of people do), it is going to be boring.

I'm not sure. I mean, you can usually tell when there is action baked into the plot with the summary. I've read a couple of Clint/Coulson ones where that was the case.